After a crazy cold rainy day on Wednesday, we experienced a strangely hot day on Thursday which prompted me to get into the vacation planning mode. Since I experienced the sudden urge to plan my vacation for 2012, I realized it was time to do my Friday boutique hotel pick.
Royal Hotel Sanremo came to mind because I am actually looking into a vacation or a holiday where I could lounge around the pool and nap my days away while sipping on some exotic drink., in Italy of course. 
Since I had been to Venice several times over the last 2 decades, I decided this time around to take just a day trip from Florence, via train and walk about the streets “outside the high tourist season” being that it is mid October Well I was wrong, Venice, from the looks of things, probably has no down time from tourism, so walking the small streets from the train station to San Marco Square was, once again, very challenging to say the least and took more time then I expected it to.
However, putting that aside, Venice is one of the most photogenic , if I may use the term, travel destination for any photographer. I can’t imagine anyone returning from Venice with bad photographs. Anyway, although I entered a few stores to appreciate the Moreno glass neatly displayed everywhere, I spend the majority of my time taking photographs. I even wrote the boat taxis up and down the canal just to get photos of every nook and krany of this marvelous city. Here are some of my photographs.
{Please remember the photos are the property of http://www.rawsilkandsaffron.wordpress.com}
I suppose being busy is a good thing in one’s life, but not having the time to do the things you love is not so good. I have been experiencing this lately with too much to do and not enough time to do my writings and blog.
So, you ask what does that have to do with today’s entry. It doesn’t, I just wanted to throw it out there for those who have asked why I haven’t posted on a daily basis.
Anyway, the beauty of researching online for a hotel is the fact, the ultimate choice is in your hands. I say this because, in the past I have had a terrible time working with those in the travel industry, who have blindly reserved what they believed was the best hotel for me to stay, during my travels.
I think one of those unmemorable hotel stays was in Bordeaux, France. During that experience, I realized how important a descent hotel was to making the trip worth while, because since our hotel was, not only so far into the suburbs, but also lacked proper transportation and as a result, I cut my trip to Bordeaux short because I couldn’t get the best of it.
Now, I choose hotels that are centrally located and have a few basic amenities but also some added extras which make me feel special while vacationing.
Here is one of my favorites stays in Bordeaux, Grand Hotel De Bordeaux, which I highly recommend. Check out the details here and enjoy the photos below.
Having lived on almost an island (well a Peninsula) all my life, I have a certain appreciation for places around the globe which are either small towns or villages near water or an actual island. With that said, I can’t resist reflecting on my trip to Santorini, Greece a while back.
Santorini is hop skip away from Athens Greece and can be accessed via air or sea. I chose air, because I figured I didn’t want to get seasick and a flight in my mind meant a shorter trip to my destination. Of course at the time, I didn’t factor in getting to the airport, waiting for the flight, dealing with weather delays and of course finding a means to get to the car rental agency on Santorini. But an adventure is always exciting, even if at times it is scary.
So, with a small luggage in tow, my travel partner and I, after enduring the longest flight on the shortest distance ever, finally got to the island in the afternoon. The airport, being very small, seemed isolated. It wasn’t a welcoming site, but the fact we were able to find a taxi driver willing to get us to the town center, in time to rent a car seemed promising.
We finally arrived at an intersection 10 minutes and perhaps even only 3 miles away from the airport and quickly ran to the car rental agency to get our vehicle before they closed. The interesting part was the car rental agent was pretty pleasant and very helpful while renting the vehicle, but when we had trouble with the car half way down the street, he wasn’t willing to exchange nor help with our troubles.
Nonetheless, we finally made our way to the hotel, which was located somewhere in the middle of the island, along a dirt road leading to a sheep farm. As we drove up the road, we realized we were miles away from the water. After checking in, I scratched my head because I didn’t realize there were scattered villages around the island, nowhere near the white washed buildings neatly tucked unto the cliff side, which I often saw in photographs. The worst was that I asked the hotel receptionist about the area and she simply shrugged, which made me think I was on the wrong island altogether.
The first night, we were completely disappointed at the experience of Santorini thus far and decided we needed to take a flight right back to Athens the following day. However, over night the winds had picked up and because of it, the flights scheduled for the following day were all cancelled. When we discovered this fact, we ended up spending the entire day moping around our hotel room because we didn’t know how to deal with a faulty rental, high wind advisory making it difficult to do most anything, grounded flights and of course the whereabouts of the white washed buildings.
After patiently waiting for day 2 to arrive, we decided to drive back to the town center, return the rental car and just wait around the airport for a flight back to Athens no matter how many hours we had to wait around. As we drove on the dirt road leading to the main road, we took a wrong turn at the T-intersection. We drove until we realized it was taking way to long to get the main town center. As soon as we decided to make a U-turn at a safe intersection, we realized a bus full of student travellers heading down yet another road. We looked at one another and decided to follow the bus just in case they were headed somewhere we didn’t know about. When the bus pulled up and let out the student or perhaps young travellers, we pulled up right behind them and parked the car. All of a sudden I looked over the cliff and saw the white washed buildings. I looked over to my friend and he looked over to me and we both knew we had to stay.
All of a sudden, everything changed. We found a tourist information office and were welcomed to the Island and given lots of information for all the things to see and do on Santorini. Nothing mattered, not the faulty car, not the winds, not the fact our hotel was in the middle of nowhere, because we finally knew where we wanted to be, FIRA.
I must say we not only stayed day 2 but actually extended our trip to another 3 days so that we could see the best of Santorini. Besides exploring FIRA and spending every evening dining in the most romantic restaurants perched along the cliff side and shopping for souvenirs along the cobblestone streets, we visited two famous archeological site, Akrotiri and Cyclades and the volcanic ash beaches which Santorini is famous for. We danced the night away at a small village bar and sat on the edge of a cliff side, along the white washed buildings and watched the sunset. I could ask for anything more.
I haven’t been back and I am sure there have been many changes to the island as well to make it more tourist friendly, but I haven’t forgotten the romance of the island and I can assure you, I will be back hopefully in the next couple of years.
Main square - Piazza Umberto
Most of my previous travels are to the main cities or towns within a country in Europe. But a few years back, when I ventured towards the Southern tip of Italy (the booth) I decided to take a ferry to the island of Capri.
I must admit I wasn’t disappointed with the choice, even though the ferry schedule a bit unreliable and the frequency less than desirable, the trip was well worth it.
main point - marina grande
The way it works is, after disembarking the ferry from Napoli, you have to take a taxi or a bus up to the top ( Alta Capri). This is where the main town square is and most of the civilization on the island. I did get a bit sick because of the altitude or maybe because of my fear of heights, but every where I looked there was the most beautiful view anyone can imagine.
view from the top
We stayed 3 nights 4 days and because the best way to see a place is by walking. We walked one entire day around the island, actually trekked through the back roads and saw the best of the best the island has to offer.
On the second day we took the funicular up to the highest point and this is where I hiperventilated and screamed all the way to the top, because the funicular was a single open seat, a small belt across your lap, feet dangling for 20 minuets . I actually hated going up there and the way down, but if you can stomach the ride, it is again well worth the adventure.
yes I was on that
The best and most memorable of my time on the Island of Capri was visiting Villa San Michelle and riding a small boat into The Blue Grotto – pictured below.
Blue Grotto
villa san michelle
This weekend marks the beginning of my official travel recommends. As I stated before I get the travel itch sometime in March, but it doesn’t really flare up until about mid May when I discover my circle of acquaintances are planning their trips.
In light of the fact, my first recommend is what is known as Cinque Terre in Italy.
Located along the western coats of Italy, this area consists of five small villages which literally cling to the Ligurian cliffs. The villages are small and close enough that you can actually walk from own village to the next within a matter of hours.
The first time I discovered the area was actually when I coordinated travel plans for college students. I heard a group of them talking about buying a railpass and finding their way to the area. That same year, I decided to take a trip to Italy and after locating Cinque Terre on the map, I chartered my course on how to incorporate Cinque Terre into my trip.
To make it easier on myself, since I didn’t know what I was up against, I reserved a hotel room near the train station in Genoa. While feeling adventurous upon my arrival, I discovered there were shuttle-like trains which took you to stops associated with each village and from there you could either take a bus down to the area where the villages were or simply walked several miles to get to them.
The funny thing I discovered on my trip there, is that most of the tourists who go there, are students and budget travellers, while others shy away from the challenges of making their way through the area.
One thing I do recommend is reading up on it and learning how to get there and how to get out, meaning double checking on bus and train schedules. If you plan to make a day trip to perhaps one village, make sure you don’t get stuck because of misinformation. Outside of that, it is a must see, especially for the photographers at heart.
One city I plan to include in my fall trip to Italy this year, is of course Florence. Although I have been there many times, it seems I can never get enough of this fascinating destination.
Outside of the fact the city’s architectural and artistic makeup, it is to me one of the most romantic places to consider spending with a loved one.
Now, although there are many hotel options to choose from while vacationing in Florence, my favorite recommend is the Palazzo della Gherardesca. Currently known as The Four Seasons Hotel here.
Apparently the hotel is the first of it’s kind for Florence. It is a resort with a pool, a spa and various other amenities too many to list here. However, please click here to read about how the hotel came to be.
Enjoy the photos and have a great weekend.
Need I say more. I mean I can spend the entire year picking hotels throughout Paris and all of France to recommend on this blog and believe me I am having a heck of a time controlling myself. But, once in a while I will let one slip by.
Here is another one of my favorite places to stay while in Paris, Hotel Balzac which is located just off the Champs-Elysses and close to the Arc de Triomphe.
The reason I love this property, besides it’s romantic ambiance, is the fact some of the rooms have skyline views of the Eiffel Tower (You must request this and it’s also based on availability). This is the hotel I can honestly spend weeks in, while writing my novel.
Anyway, I will stop writing and let the photos do the walking. Have a great weekend everyone!
